WIC Celebrates 50 Years of Women, Children Assistance
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — WIC has supported mothers and children facing food insecurity for 50 years.
On Wednesday, the Berkshire North Women, Infants & Children Nutrition Program celebrated the milestone with an open house at 510 North St. A grant-funded program of Berkshire Health Systems, it currently serves 1,740 people from Central and Northern Berkshire County.
"We are a staple in our community," Program Director Melissa King said.
"We support nutritional foods for our participants but we also are a community partner. We make sure people that come in for our services are referred out to the community for other things they may need, whether it's childcare, heating, all of that stuff."
The Berkshire North WIC has offices in Pittsfield and North Adams. The Pittsfield office has eight employees and has been located in the 510 building for about five years.
Community members and staff were greeted in the lobby by large purple balloons in the shape of 50 to mark the anniversary, snacks, and smiling faces.
Pete Gazzillo, director of nutritional health at Berkshire Health Systems, said there is a growing need for the program's services in the community.
"It's a great recognition for an organization that has been around in Berkshire County for more than 35 years, vital to providing support and education to some of our most vulnerable population here in the county," he said.
"And we particularly saw that in the last few years with having immigrants coming into town and being able to provide some immediate assistance to those babes and children and moms who really needed it."
He added that the program also did everything it needed to create seamless services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
WIC aims to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.
It also offers breastfeeding support.
A community closet and a small food pantry can be found in the lobby. King explained that it is not just WIC members and that there are items for children and adults of both genders.
"This is a good way that we support the community," she said.
The open house was said to be "overwhelmingly successful," with plenty of visits from partners, health care providers, and people who were just walking by.
The first official WIC site officially opened in Pineville, Ky., in 1974 and was shaped by David Paige, who is known as the grandfather of the program. Nationally, the program served about 6.6 million participants each month in fiscal year 2023.
More information and eligibility details for WIC can be found on Mass.gov.
Tags: social services, WIC,
